‘This kind of racism used to shock us, now it's part of normal life' – Indians in Ireland living in fear amid spate of violent attacks
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The Star
14 minutes ago
- The Star
Indian rescuers scour debris after 60 killed in flood, and scores of people are also missing
Members of the Indian Army work in an area affected by the deadly flood caused by sudden, heavy rain in Chasoti town of Kishtwar district, Indian Kashmir, on Friday, August 15, 2025. -- REUTERS/Stringer KOSHTWAR, India (AFP): Indian rescuers pulled bodies from mud and rubble Friday after the latest deadly flood to crash through a Himalayan village killed at least 60 people and washed away dozens more. Torrents of water and mud driven by intense rain tore through Chisoti village in Indian-administered Kashmir on Thursday, leaving dozens missing, including Hindu pilgrims who were visiting a shrine. It is the second major deadly flooding disaster in India this month. Officials said a large makeshift kitchen in Chisoti, where more than 100 pilgrims were, was completely washed away by what Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah reported was a sudden "cloudburst" rain storm. Arun Shah, 35, had just completed his pilgrimage with his family when the flood struck. "It was horrifying", he told AFP, speaking by telephone from a hospital in Kishtwar district, where Chisoti is located. "Boulders and a rush of water came down from the mountain. We all got separated while trying to save ourselves," he said. Kishtwar district hospital head Yudhvir Kotwal told AFP more than 100 people were brought in after the disaster. "Most of the injured had head injuries, fractured bones and ribs," Kotwal said, adding that "dead bodies are still being retrieved from under the mud and rubble". Heavy earthmovers were brought to the disaster area to dig through deep mud. The army's White Knight Corps said its troops, "braving the harsh weather and rugged terrain, are engaged in evacuation of injured". Emergency supplies including ropes and digging tools were being brought to the disaster site, with the army supporting other rescue teams. Mohammad Irshad, a top disaster management official, told AFP on Friday that "60 people are recorded dead", with 80 people unaccounted for. Floods and landslides are common during the June-September monsoon season, but experts say climate change, coupled with poorly planned development, is increasing their frequency, severity and impact. Floods on August 5 overwhelmed the Himalayan town of Dharali in India's Uttarakhand state and buried it in mud. The likely death toll from that disaster is more than 70 but has not been confirmed. The UN's World Meteorological Organization said last year that increasingly intense floods and droughts are a "distress signal" of what is to come as climate change makes the planet's water cycle ever more unpredictable. Roads had already been damaged by days of heavy storms in Kishtwar district. The area lies more than 200 kilometres (125 miles) by road from the region's main city Srinagar. Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the spate of disasters in his Independence Day speech in New Delhi on Friday. "In the past few days, we have been facing natural disasters, landslides, cloudbursts, and many other calamities," he said. "Our sympathies are with the affected people. State governments and the central government are working together with full strength." - AFP
The Star
14 minutes ago
- The Star
On India's Independence Day, Modi vows to punish Pakistan for future attacks
NEW DELHI (AP): Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi warned Pakistan that India will punish its neighbor if there are future attacks on India as he marked 78 years of independence from British colonial rule. Modi's remarks on Friday come three months after nuclear-armed rivals India and Pakistan engaged in four days of intense fighting, their worst clash in decades. Modi addressed the country from New Delhi's 17th-century, Mughal-era Red Fort, saying India has established a "new normal' that does not differentiate between "terrorists' and those who support terrorism. He said he would not tolerate what he called Islamabad's "nuclear blackmail." "India has decided that it will not tolerate nuclear threats. For a long time, nuclear blackmail had been going on, but this blackmail will not be tolerated now,' Modi said. There was no immediate response from Pakistan to Modi's remarks. Pakistan has previously rejected India's statements about nuclear blackmail as provocative and inflammatory. However, Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday announced the creation of a new "Army Rocket Force Command' to bolster the country's defense capabilities. Sharif made this announcement during a speech marking Independence Day celebrations, but gave no further details. India celebrates its Independence Day one day after Pakistan. The two states came into existence as a result of the bloody partition of British India in 1947. The process sparked some of the worst communal violence the world has seen and left hundreds of thousands dead. It triggered one of the largest human migrations in history and some 12 million people fled their homes. India and Pakistan exchanged tit-for-tat military strikes in May that brought them to the brink of war. The fighting between the two countries was sparked by an April massacre by gunmen in Indian-controlled Kashmir that killed 26 people, mostly Hindu tourists. India blamed the attack on Pakistan-backed militants. Islamabad denied responsibility while calling for a neutral investigation. Days after the massacre, India launched strikes on Pakistan and said it had hit nine "terrorist infrastructure' sites. "Terror infrastructure was turned to rubble,' Modi said in his speech Friday. Pakistan responded by sending waves of drones into India, as well as missile and artillery bombardments. Dozens of people were killed on both sides until a ceasefire was reached May 10 after U.S. mediation. Pakistan immediately claimed it shot down six Indian aircraft during the clashes, including a French-made Rafale fighter. India acknowledged some losses but did not provide details. Last week, India's air force chief said India shot down five Pakistani fighter jets and one other military aircraft during clashes in the first such public claim by India. Pakistan rejected it, saying both sides should open their aircraft inventories to independent verification. During his Friday speech, Modi also hinted India would continue its unilateral suspension of the Indus Water Treaty. The treaty, which India suspended after the April massacre, allows the sharing of the Indus River that runs about 2,897 kilometers (1,800 miles) through South Asia and is a lifeline for both countries. "Rivers from India were irrigating the lands of enemies while my country's farmers and land faced a deficiency of water," Modi said. "India has now decided that blood and water will not flow together." Pakistan has said any effort by India to stop or divert the water from flowing into Pakistan would be considered an "act of war.' Modi did not directly mention US President Donald Trump's tariffs on India in his Independence Day speech, but said he would not compromise on the agriculture sector, one of the main sticking points in trade negotiations with the US. Earlier this month, Trump imposed a 25% penalty on India in addition to 25% tariffs for buying oil and weapons from Russia. India has resisted US pressure to open its markets to some farm products as Modi's government is unwilling to risk angering farmers, who are a powerful voting bloc. "India will not compromise on the interests of farmers," he said. Modi claimed India's demography was being changed as part of a "conspiracy' through illegal migration and announced what he called a "high-powered demographic mission' to tackle the problem. He did not provide further details. "No nation in the world can hand over itself to infiltrators,' he said. Modi's ruling Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party has repeatedly described the influx of illegal immigrants from Bangladesh as a "national security crisis' and claimed that unchecked Muslim infiltration from the country is leading to a demographic shift in India. In recent months, Indian officials have conducted what they call a verification drive, which they say is intended to identify immigrants lacking legal status. Many people, most of them Muslim, have been detained or expelled to neighboring Bangladesh. - AP
Straits Times
15 minutes ago
- Straits Times
Former China envoy to Singapore Sun Haiyan reappears after reported questioning
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox A source familiar with the situation told ST on Aug 15 that Ms Sun Haiyan had been uncontactable for several days. Former Chinese ambassador to Singapore Sun Haiyan was likely questioned by the authorities earlier in August in connection with a probe into her superior, Mr Liu Jianchao, but she has since returned to work, The Straits Times understands. A smiling Ms Sun, 53, appeared at an event organised by the Indian embassy in Beijing on Aug 15 evening, suggesting that she is not necessarily implicated in whatever trouble Mr Liu could be in. The Wall Street Journal had reported on Aug 10 that Mr Liu, who heads the Communist Party of China International Department (CPCID) and was seen as a front runner to become foreign minister, had been taken away for questioning after he returned to Beijing in late July from a work trip overseas. The reason for his detention remains unclear. Reuters then reported on Aug 15 that Ms Sun was also detained , citing three people with knowledge of the matter. As at Aug 15, both Mr Liu and Ms Sun remain listed as the minister and vice-minister of the CPCID on its website. The department manages the party's ties with foreign political parties. A source familiar with the situation told ST on Aug 15 that Ms Sun had been uncontactable for several days, often a sign that someone has been taken in for questioning by the authorities. But the source also noted that it is standard procedure for the authorities to question those who have worked closely with a person under investigation, and that this does not in itself imply wrongdoing. Another source said on the afternoon of Aug 15 that Ms Sun was 'working normally' and that news of her attending a diplomatic event that day 'would be out soon'. That evening, Mr Wang Zichen, a research fellow at the Beijing-based Centre for China and Globalisation, posted photos of Ms Sun at an ongoing reception in Beijing marking India's Independence Day. She stood next to Chinese Foreign Vice-Minister Miao Deyu in a crowded ballroom, the photos showed. Ms Sun, a Hebei native, holds a doctorate in law from Peking University and has studied at Japan's Kyushu University. She joined the International Department in 1997, serving various roles including as spokesperson and head of the bureau responsible for ties with South-east Asian countries. She served as ambassador to Singapore from May 2022 to July 2023.
